Choro-Q HG 2
Choro-Q HG 2 (Japanese:チョロQ HG 2) (Known as Everywhere Road Trip in North America and Road Trip Adventure in Europe) is the second game in the "HG/High Grade" series of games developed exclusively for the PlayStation 2 console, first released in Japan on January 10th, 2002, then October 26th, 2002 in North America, and in May 2003 for Europe. Barnhouse Effect did not develop this game. Instead, it was developed by E-Game. It has been highly-acclaimed by many gamers - hardcore and casual alike - and is widely known for being the best out of the Choro-Q HG series, for its open-ended gameplay and large playing area. Gameplay Choro-Q HG 2 is an adventure game with elements of racing. The aim of the game is to get all 100 stamps and to become the President by winning the World Grand Prix. There are many steps before becoming president, like passing every one of the Q's Factory races. The player goes round to every city, completing races and collecting stamps. There are also several mini-games the player can participate in, like golf and roulette. Players may also acquire Parts to enhance the performance of their cars. Starting At the start of the game the player is asked to enter the name of the player and the currency. A scene then plays where the President expresses his desire to retire as president to his secretary. He says that whoever wins the World Grand Prix will get the chance to challenge him and take the presidency for him/herself. The game then switches to a scene where the player is in the Q's Factory and is being informed by the Q's factory truck of the World Grand Prix. The player then starts with one of six bodies; a light green 1979 Mazda RX-7, a blue 2002 Nissan Skyline GT-R, a silver Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, a red Alfa Romeo SZ, a bright yellow Fiat 500 or an orange Honda S-MX. The player starts with Normal parts. 1000 of the player's currency, and a C License. Next, the player is left to do whatever he or she chooses. Stamps There are 100 stamps in total and players can see the stamps they have from the start menu. Stamps are awarded for completing "missions," for achieving a goal or winning a mini-game etc. After you get 100 stamps the player can get the ultimate parts for their car, known as the Devil Parts. Licenses There are four licenses in the game: C License, B License, A License, and Super-A License. The player starts off with a C License, which allows the player to race in beginner races which require a C License. Once the player completes all C License races, he/she will earn a B License, which allows the racer to race in B License races. In B License races, the AI racers are faster in general and more difficult race courses can be raced on. In some races, AI cars may have Jet Turbines or Propellers equipped. Once the player completes all B License races, he/she earns the A License, making the racer eligible to participate in A License races. A License races feature even faster AI racers and cars are equipped with a Wing Set and either Jet Turbines or Propellers. Once the racer completes all A License events, he/she earns the Super-A License, which is required in order to participate in the World Grand Prix. Land There are nine cities (though some of them may be too small to be considered as cities, much more passed off as villages), Peach Town, Fuji City, My City, Sandpolis, Chestnut Canyon, Mushroom Road, White Mountain, Papaya Island and Cloud Hill. Most are linked together by highways and dirt tracks (With the exception of Papaya Island and Cloud Hill, which are accessed by driving on the ocean floor and by Pollepolle's house respectively). Cities contain a Q's Factory, a Parts shop, a Paint shop, a Body shop, houses, and other buildings, like bars, which can give clues on where Choro-Q coins are located. Many houses can be entered, as can shops and bars. There are also some rivers and trees, along with the enclosing Grand Ocean. The map is looped so if you continue driving away from the land you will eventually reach another part of the map (e.g driving onward past the mouth of the river near Peach Town will allow you to quickly gain access to Papaya Island.) Other cars The player can "talk" to other cars by driving into them or entering the building they are in. They can sometimes give players useful information or items, or they may just be happy to talk to the player. Most cars also ask the player if they could join your team for races (provided at least one race has been completed in sixth or better). This is a good way of recruiting team members, and you can have up to two teammates at once. If you already have two teammates when another car asks to join your team, you have the option to replace an existing teammate or decline their offer. If you do switch teammates, the parts from the old teammate are passed to the new teammate. Conversations with other cars will appear as text in a pop-up box near the bottom of your screen. Two Player Two Player Gameplay Choro-Q HG 2 is also a two-player game. Once two controllers are inserted into the PS2 or PS3, a Two Player option is available at the main menu. From here, gamers can play games with a friend, such as: * Highway Race * Sliding Door Race * Football (!) * Obstacle Run There are three modes: Race Right-Away, Random Race, and Custom Race. * Race Right-Away is where Player 1 is the Red Team, and Player 2 is the Blue Team. After competing in the multi-player mode, scores are added up via the amount of wins, and the highest amount of points upon finishing wins. This option does not require a memory card with saved data. For the blue team, the player will have a Nissan Skyline R34, and the teammates will drive a Mitsubishi Lancer (Kuwano) and a Lotus Elise (Nairo). For the red team, the player will have a Mazda RX7, and the teammates will drive a Ferrari 250 GTO (Casa) and an Alfa Romeo 155 (Flower). All of the teammates have equal skill levels. Results from these races will not be saved. * Random Race requires two memory cards, as Player 1 will be represented by the Adventure mode save file on the memory card in slot 1 and Player 2 will be represented by the Adventure mode save file on the memory card in slot 2. Each player will have the car body from the Adventure mode file but will not have the specific parts on the car; instead, the parts equipped will be determined by the track selected. If both players have two teammates, the teammates will join the players during races; if not, then races will be 1-on-1 between the two players. Game data can be saved and the results will be saved if each player saves their game file. * Custom Race is similar to Random Race, but each player's car (as well as their teammates) will use the parts currently equipped from their Adventure mode cars. Depending on how far each player is in the game, one racer may have an unfair advantage if they are further along in the game. If both players have two teammates, the teammates will join the players during races; if not, then races will be 1-on-1 between the two players. Players can change parts on their cars and their teammates' cars between races if they choose. Players can also trade parts as well in this mode. Game data can be saved, and if the players save their game data, not only will the results be saved but also any parts changes will be transferred over to the player's Adventure mode file. Two Player Trading One of the more valuable aspects of Road Trip Adventure is Two-Player trading. This allows players to sell/buy parts to a friend via inserting both memory cards into the PS2. The parts are priced based on how far one player is in the game and how far the other is. For example, if a Player is selling a part to another Player, and he/she has nearly completed the game, the part will be much more expensive for Player 2 to buy. There is also a secret in this which will allow players to acquire duplicates of the Devil Parts for their teammates to use. Once you acquire the Devil Parts on one memory card, copy that data onto another memory card and then sell the Devil Parts from one memory card to the other. You should now have two Devil Parts in your storage. Repeat this once more and your entire team will have the devil parts! (note that you will require a lot of currency and 2 memory cards for this to work, and this cheat cannot be done on the PS3 Port because there are no memory cards on the PS3). This is valuable as Devil Parts cannot be bought and are acquired only once in the game. Mini Games There are many mini games in Choro-Q HG 2, most of them based on human activities. Activities include: Roulette, Football, Figure 8, Ski Jumping, Curling, Golf, Obstacle Course, Drag Racing, Highway Racing, Sliding Door Racing (Chicken), Treasure Hunting, Barrel Dodging, Rock Climbing, Beach Flag (Point-to-Point Racing), Fishing, One-Lap Racing, and even driving around in a Volcano! The player may use his or her car directly in a mini-game or use it to manipulate other objects e.g. hit a ball in football. Reception Choro-Q HG 2 has been praised for its game world and depth despite the very low budget and early development date of 2001. However, Choro-Q HG 2 has often been criticised for its dodgy physics. These sometimes allow the car to "float" in the air for an unrealistic amount of time and/or go through fences at high speeds. One of the main other criticisms is the lack of graphical detail, with broad areas having plain textures. It is also criticised for it's sound. The game currently holds a score of 80 on Metacritic. The game was re-released on the Playstation Store on 15 Febuary 2012, although was only made available on the European store. Trivia *Apparently, the game is set in September 2012, according to the front cover of the game. Additionally, the cover mentions Las Vegas. *In the non-American versions, the top speed is 349 and it is measured in kilometers per hour. In the US Version, the top speed is 217 but it is measured in miles per hour, where 217 mph is the equivalent of 349 km/h. It is possible to break this limit by going in reverse using the Devil Parts. *In the Japanese version, there is a talk show found on the equivalent radio of Peach FM. However, in the European and North American releases of the game, it is replaced with tracks from indie groups like The Push Kings. *Oddly, since there is 151 bodies in the Japanese version, 151 is seemingly is the same number of Pokemon that were released in Generation 1. Thus referencing TakaraTomy's relationship with the production of Pokemon merchandise. *Locations of all the race courses and most of the mini-game locations are not in Adventure Mode so their locations are an unsolved mystery. *Unlike Choro-Q HG, Choro-Q HG 2 (as well as Choro-Q HG 3) was released on a CD format PS2 disc rather than a DVD format PS2 disc. CD format PS2 discs have less storage than the DVD format PS2 discs, which may explain the lack of graphical detail and criticism with the in-game sound. Images File:Everywhere_Road_Trip.png|NTSC Box Art File:Pal_Box_Art.jpg|PAL Box Art 129782-road-trip-playstation-2-back-cover.jpg|Back of PAL and NTSC versions|link=http://choroq.wikia.com/wiki/Choro-Q_HG_2 54319_back.jpg|Back of Japanese HG2 box Category:Games Category:Choro-Q HG 2 Category:Discontinued